2012 REUNION

Due to the great financial support of friends and fellow crew members at our 2012 reunion, we have paid all our bills and have been able to donate $3,000 to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation. This was a promise we made and have kept. Oak Grove Hotshots will continue to support our fellow Hotshots as they go into harms way.

The Oak Grove Hotshot 2012 Reunion was held on May 23, at the Supervisors office of the Angeles National Forest. With over 140 crew members and their families attending from as far away as Fairbanks, Alaska (Dave Maxell) and Huntsville, Alabama (Ron Shurney). The Reunions master of ceremony was George Roby, former Arroyo Seco, District Ranger and Angeles National Forest Supervisor. The Reunion started with members of the Forest Service Honor Guard presenting the American flag and the Pledge of Allegiance. Welcoming former crew members was current Angeles Forest Supervisor Tom Contreras and District Ranger Mike McIntyre. In attendance were five former Oak Grove Superintendents, Tom Ralls (1961-62), George Pond (1963-64), Larry Boggs (1965-71), Chet Cash (1971-73) and Steve Arney (1974-78). Acknowledgements included the Reunion organizers Larry Boggs, Bob Serrato and Steve Arney, as well as those that donated cash and auction items. Doug Beck (crew of 1968) supplied professional photography for the Reunion and Gordon Rowley brought in an impressive historical display of firefighting equipment. Crew members from the Del Rosa, Little Tujunga, Dalton, Chilao and Los Padres Hotshots, also participated. Lively conversations, yarn telling and reacquainting with old friends and crew members continued on at the Embassy Suites Hotel.

More details on our donation to the Wildland Firefighter Foundation and crew photos to follow.

jack and joyce lane said,

Dick Williamson said,

I had a great time at the Reunion as I’m sure everyone else did. It was good seeing lots of those faces from the past. I did miss seeing those who couldn’t be with us, those who have gone before us. All the more reason for staying in contact by phone, e-mail or better yet personal visits. We all have fond memories of past assignments and locations but it was the people we worked with who made it memorable.

Russ Marks said,

We missed out on the 2014 reunion due to Reid losing the ability to travel, but taking my father to the 2012 reunion was such a privilege. Afterwards we took the long way home over the Angles Crest Highway, and he gave me the tour of the places he had worked and fire he had been on, for me it was a once in a lifetime trip seeing the places and meeting the people that were the stories of my youth.

The Oak Grove Hotshot crew was formed in 1950, making it the first Hotshot crew on the Angeles National Forest, and the second Hotshot crew formed by the Forest Service.
Meaning of "hot shot"
The original meaning of "hot-shot" was when it appeared in the early 17th. Century as "one who shoots recklessly" (essentially a "hothead fellow"),
"Big Shot" meaning a very important person, originally came from large caliber weapons (initially in the form "big gun") in the early 19th. century.
"Hot Shots" were iron shot heated red-hot in a furnace and fired into the side of a wooded ship.
The first time we see Hot Shot used in Wildland Firefighting history, it was used for a two or more person crew that fought fire with hand tools.
Today, the term Hotshot is used to refer to pilots, stock brokers and more, but in wildland firefighting, the term is used to identify an elite group of people.
If you were a member or know a member of the crew, please contact us with name, year on the crew, position, and contact information. Continue to monitor this blog for updates.
Email info. to: oghotshot@comcast.net
If you have any photos of the crew or information that you would like to include into the blog, mail to the above email address and we will include it in the blog photo/ history.